Macroporous silicone biomaterials with modified surface chemistry: Production and characterization

Porous and bioactive silicone biomaterials were developed for soft and cartilage tissue repair. A protocol, using compression molding, salt extraction, and supercritical carbon dioxide treatments, was used to obtain disk-shaped materials with specific pore sizes and morphologies by changing the process conditions. Highly open/interconnected macroporous silicone matrices, with an average pore size of 250-300 mu m and porosities in the range of 60%-70%, were obtained by the extracting the NaCl particles. Subsequent treatment with supercritical carbon dioxide slightly decreased the average pore size but increased the porosity to 80%. The supercritical carbon dioxide treatment effectively removed the entrapped salt crystals from the silicone matrix that improved interconnectivity. The compression modulus decreased, while the compression strength was increased using this technique. The surfaces and pores of the silicone materials were modified by silanization to provide primary amine groups for cell attachment, proliferation, migration, and three-dimensional growth of model L929 fibroblast cells.